Calling All -- and We Do Mean ALL -- Grad Students
By Elizabeth Labiner
During the spring semester each year, graduate students from across the disciplines share their work in three-minute presentations at Grad Slam. Presenters must channel their research and creativity into an engaging experience for a general audience, communicating not only what they do, but why it’s valuable. The competition is open to all graduate students, but in practice, some students feel their work is difficult to encapsulate in an oral presentation.
So this year, in addition to Grad Slam, the Graduate College is hosting a Creative and Performing Arts Competition. The competition, set to take place at the end of March, will be an opportunity for creative, performing, and fine arts students to share their work in three-minute performances or presentations before a multidisciplinary panel of judges. All creative and performing arts are welcome! The goal of this new event is to showcase the exciting and important creative endeavors of graduate students, and the top performances as selected by the judges will perform at the Grad Slam Final on April 2nd, 2019.
Both competition trajectories are a celebration of the wide-ranging work done by graduate students, explains Dr. Meg Lota Brown, Director of the Graduate Center:
One of the many advantages of Grad Slam is that it demonstrates the value of graduate education, the innovative and important work that graduate students do, and the benefits that result at the local, state, national, and global levels. We’re excited to build into the structure of Grad Slam the additional opportunity for fine arts students to showcase the excellent quality of their work.
To learn more details about the fine arts competition, please e-mail the Graduate Center at gradcenter@email.arizona.edu. More information will be forthcoming, so keep an eye out for updates.
If you’re interested in competing in Grad Slam, the Graduate Center and GPSC want to help you prepare! Together, they’re hosting a series of professional development and training workshops for participants. Free and open to all students, whether you decide to compete or not, the workshops will help you learn about strategies for effective public speaking. They also enhance students’ written and visual communication skills.
To learn more about Grad Slam, visit the Grad Slam page of the Graduate Center website.
To sign up to participate in Grad Slam, visit the registration page.
If you’re interested in practicing your presentation or honing your skills for Grad Slam, sign up for the preparatory workshops.